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Representative Ro Foege
Report from the Iowa Legislature
April 11, 2004
Budget Debate Delayed
Last week when I wrote this report, I believed that by now we would have debated the Omnibus Budget bill which the Senate passed. We are told now by the majority leadership that the debate will take place on Monday, April 12. The reason for the delay is that the Senate cannot agree on the gambling bill. The gambling bill must be decided first because of its impact on the state budget.
The proposed budget bill presents five basic problems:
- it fails to provide sufficient funding to maintain the quality of our schools;
- it fails to provide a reliable funding source for the state's economic development programs and job
creation;
- it fails to fund our obligations to seniors and children in the Medicaid health care budget and drains $150 million from the Senior Living Trust;
- it fails to fully fund property tax credits that local governments and property taxpayers have been promised; and
- it depletes all but $100,000 of the state's Cash Reserve Fund (currently about $168 million) which would expose the state to potential cash flow problems.
My colleagues and I will be offering alternatives in the form of amendments to each of these inadequate responses to the needs of Iowans. One amendment would return K-12 education funding to the level proposed by Governor Vilsack. That amendment contains an additional $28 million for such things as Teacher Quality and Student Achievement, early childhood programs, professional development and Area Education Agencies (AEAs).
Another key amendment would establish an Allowable Growth for the 2005-2006 school year. This amendment would establish Allowable Growth at 4% plus an additional $44 million for Teacher Quality and Student Achievement. The total dollar amount is approximately equivalent to a 6% Allowable Growth.
I will also be offering an amendment that encourages the development of assisted living facilities for senior citizens. The purpose of the amendment is to shift some of our reliance from nursing homes to community based services. This helps senior and disabled Iowans and also helps the Iowa taxpayer. Iowa spends over $400 million per year on Medicaid, the health insurance program for low-income families, elderly and disabled. Only 28% of recipients are elderly and disabled, but they account for over 74% of total costs. The largest single Medicaid expense is for nursing home care, accounting for one-fifth of total Medicaid costs. Since community-based services are less costly than nursing home care, this amendment would save the state money, and it would allow seniors and disabled Iowans more choices in their care.
House Democrats have developed a way to pay for the alternative amendments. We can create a stable, long-term funding source for our key economic growth initiative, the Iowa Values Fund, through the use of bonding while interest rates are very low. This will free up $41 million from the General Fund which can be used to provide more money for the other priorities.
The next week could well be the last week of the regular legislative session for this year. It will be our last opportunity of the 2004 legislative session to increase funding for our schools, health care and the last opportunity to stop shifting the tax burden to local property tax payers. After the adoption of the huge appropriations bill, adjournment will quickly follow.
I appreciate hearing from constituents. If you cannot visit the Capitol, you can write me at the State Capitol, Des Moines, IA 50319; call me at 515/281-3221 or e-mail me at
ro.foege@legis.state.ia.us.
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